Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-04-04
THAT INVESTIGATION.
THE REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS OF TIE
INSANE ASYLUM.
Whist Was Brought Forth in an Investigation y
Then-A RsfatahOa Of Many Of The Charges
Brought Before the Legislature Charges
Of Misrepresentation.

Special Correspondence ef TIE Register
WESTON, W. Va, April 2.-The follow
ing is an abstract OF the repor. made to
Governor Wilson by the Directors Of the
Hospital for the Insane:
WESTON, W. VA,
March 25th, 1887.
To HIS Eroelescy +. W. WIsoa, Governor Of
West JTrgisid:
SIR:-We, the undersigned, composing
the Board OF Directors Of The West vir-
ginia Hospital for the Insane, beg leave
10 state to you as the Chief Executive Of
the State and charged with the duty 10
take care that the laws be faithfully
executed" that We have been called to-
gether in meeting as such Board
That this meeting hss been occasionsd
chiefly by . report Of = committee Of the
Legislature under Senate Joint Resolution
No. Il, TO investigate the management and
condition Of said Hospital, OF the alst day
Of February, 1887.
The committee proceeded. chiefly iu the
investigation of the matters rspidly and
in haste, without notice before CON-
Dencing their investigation and without
time or opportunity 10 repel the implicat-
ing testimony, which the committee in
haste took and upon which they acted,
grayely 10 consider, and upon which 10
found report which reflects upon officers
connected with this institution. And
upon this duplicating testimony, which
we have carefully read and which Is now
before Us, We do not hesitate TO say In the
main and in all its material parts the Said
report OF the said committee is unwar-
nnted and unfounded.
We propose now to respond IN hmiae 70
the several matters reported upon by said
committee:
Reference is made by said report OF the
committee 10 the 10th section of chapter
IS, OF the Code, and Il Is stated in said re-
port that "the express provision Of the
statute, after the admissions Of patients an
examining board shall be convened, ~
soon ~ may he, Is systematically ignored" "
We are not advised, there il any such pro
vision requiring such board 20 meet after
the admission Of patients.
IL has always been the practice ia this
Institution since its organization in 1864,
to require the Superintendent, after invcs-
igating whether the patient is accredited
with authentic papers committing him, Ia
examine the patient himself, and 10 have
the ASST stance Of the Assistant Ply ysisians,
il necessary, and IL question should occur,
whether proposed patient is n lunatic or
not, in every such instance Of question. to
convene the local Board. No difficulty
has resulted from this practice, and css.
tainly no sane person has ever been couhn-
ed within the walls Of this Institution.
We concur in the recommendations OF
Improvements suggested by said Commit.
tee, and take occasion here TO say, that tho
most important Of them have her,tosors
been recommended. and they would have
been made IL an adequate supply Of money
had been furnished.
No accusation is made by said report M
tO 'the financial transactions of the Hos.
pital," and they say they have heard no
complaint respecting the same.
The report states that the Treasurer
gives bond In the penalty Of thirty thon.
sand dollars, with two sureties; that one
OF them Is the Superintendent, aud that
I'm respect 10 some Of the funds, al least,
il would he the duty OF the Superiutand-
ent 10 detect and prove any defalcation Of
which the Treasurer inight be guilty"
They state that il s even more remark
able that the Trcasurer's bcnd IN lodged
with the Superintendent"
The bond Of the present Treasurer, Who
has been Treasurer for years under differ
ent administrations, IN not lodged with
the Superintendent, but IL in the safe Of
the disbusing clerk Of the instiiation.
The rport says thai no bond Ia, ever
been required OF the Superiptendent or
Disbursing Clerk. This IL q matter within
legislative discretion, there being no law
directing that bond Of these officers be
taken, and none has ever been taken In the
history Of this institution.
The report further states, "recor,is are
in mauy particulars insufficient, ssd nrc
sometimes without index, and that tbsr.
is general air Of disorder and carslessness,
which Is Incompatible with the proper dis
charge OF duty, and Letters receiyed ara
not preserved, letters sent out are not
copied. THIS in the main IL not true IL
Is true that prior 10 1884 the records Of
the proceeding, OF the Board, contaislny
all their orders and proccedinps were with
out being indexsd, though duly entered,
aud then the Board caused q clerk TO be
employed and the kaid records we're th<n
indexed. Since that time. the said record
has been asatly Kept and will compare
we'll with the records Of the cGnrts Of tho
country.
IL IL true all letters received are not pre-
served; those Of value and Importance re-
lsting 10 the general business aud engage.
mentz 0f the hospital are. Letters sent
are not copied unlsss they are Of like char
aeter and importance.
Ii Is not true, that the bonds and I'm
portant papers are kept In bundles without
aTraneement They are in safe reposi.
tories.
To cause 10 b. done in the superiutepd-
ents odies all the work ~ the ehasaettr
referred 10, would occasion Ia our judg-
ment, almost constant employ mept there
In by him, and conssqHsnt diversion from
his other and more important duties.
The Committ1e take OCCASION 10 state
that an unmarried female patient gaye
birth TO child on the 3Ah day of Jsnu-
ary, iss7, and that Il Was suggested BY
some Of the officers that certain patisnt
is the father Of the child. and that fhs
male patient was confined 20 male ward
~ . time when he could not have had nc.
ress within the reasonable time Of gests.
ton, and that they are not satisfied with
the explanation II II proper 10 say, that
the inissBoe 10 be drawn from the Ian
ssage employed by the Cossmittee, n not
just to the ogiees referred 10. They made
no effort 70 prodsee conclusions N 10 the
paternity ef the child. They stated the
tacss within their knowledge derived from
Close investigation.
The probable period between "a con-
inement Of the male patient sn1 The birth
Of the child was two husdrea and ninety
five or three hundred days.
The reason Of tbs suggestion of the
paternity Of the eSDd, was founded upon
the statemsatA Of both patients
| The ssbtef1 Of The cf,aditioo of fkSs f.